New Nikon D60 “Special Edition”? Already? (updated)

By [NR] admin | Published: September 10, 2008
Reading this dpreview post:
“I work at a retail camera store and noticed a new stock number pop up last night. It was for “Nikon D60 Black Gold Body Only.” It listed the Nikon part # as 25459. It was not ‘shielded’ or ‘hidden’ as stock numbers sometimes are before announcements. The price was listed at $649.99, $50 more than the standard D60 body.”
Black gold? Curious to see how this one will play out. Suggested changes from the comments section:
  • weather proofing
  • live view
  • larger screen
  • new lens combo
Nikon D60 kit currently sells for $599 @ Amazon.
Anyone working in Circuit City or Best Buy, can you please check the inventory for some “Black Gold”?
Posted in Nikon D90, Nikon Humor Rumor| 29 Comments

Nikon to respond to Sony A900?

By [NR] admin | Published: September 8, 2008

I am getting some buzz that Nikon will be releasing some leaks/rumors/official news in the next few days as a response to the freshly released Sony A900. It makes sense to use the momentum of A900 and throw us some bones (Sony and Nikon are sharing sensor technology). Canon has already been teasing its fan base for the past few weeks.

Army of NR readers – keep your eyes open (I will do the same)!

Posted in Other Nikon stuff| 75 Comments

One bad and two good news

By [NR] admin | Published: September 7, 2008

Anonymous message to NR:

“Please be advised that the “Otoji” concept as you refer to is no longer current. Although accurate, the project in this form was abandoned over a year ago. It was deemed to be too complicated for deployment. However, selected components and concepts are being introduced in a new system which is set for release in March ’09. This info was also correct.
As others have correctly observed, some new lenses have a larger image circle than needed for 24×36.
You should carefully assess the upcoming newly to be released (prime) lenses and realize they cover more than strictly needed. As for form factor, think E-2 but sleeker and compacter. There will not be a separate line of lenses, rather a select few that fill a dual purpose exceedingly well.”

If the above is true, the good news is that something new and different is still coming in March 2009, the bad news is that it is not going to be Otoji. I am not sure about the reference to E-2: there was an old Olympus E-1
but there was no E-2 model and I am sure the comment was not for the Sanyo E2. Any ideas?

We have to watch the new primes at Photokina! I guess this is the second good news.
Those are the latest Nikon rumors. Peace.
Update: the reference was for the Nikon E2 model – I was not sharp enough to get to that model before.

Posted in Nikon Lenses| Tagged , | 20 Comments

MX may just mean Multi Format

By [NR] admin | Published: September 6, 2008
I have to be very careful how I report this information, so here we go…
Somewhere, at some point of time, someone that works for an unidentified company talked about:
  • the bulk of the camera body, especially the vertical grip. The remark was that a certain company had considered a square sensor, so that the user would not need to rotate the body. Shots could be processed later to result in vertical or horizontal final images.
  • the fact that a pixel density and efficiency level would be reached in a roughly 6×4.5 sized chip of near 100 MP. When you look at some of the smaller pixel sized cameras, and how they perform, the capability is already there, though perhaps the failure rate has kept them off the market. Anyway, if you scale a roughly 100 MP 6×4.5 chip to nearer 36mm square, then somewhere in the realm of 40MP seems about the upper practical limit.
  • MX may just mean Multi Format
The above info may or may not be related to the Otoji project (more info on Otoji can be found here, here and here). Of course all this could be just a plain product discussion that will never hit the production line, but this information somehow got to me and I decided to share it.
Posted in Other Nikon stuff| Tagged , | 11 Comments

Cool Nikon p0rn

By [NR] admin | Published: September 5, 2008
Posted in Other Nikon stuff| 2 Comments

The crystal ball strikes back

By [NR] admin | Published: September 5, 2008
Crystal ball coincidence? Probably, but still an interesting observation (brought to you by Bob) see the images here and here and judge for yourself (the D800 picture is old and probably fake).
Posted in Nikon D800| 11 Comments

More Otoji leaks

By [NR] admin | Published: September 5, 2008

I received another cryptic message about the Otoji project:

The initial problem of the difference in flange register between both standards is addressed by the automatic repositioning of the focal plane of the sensor unit. The adjustment is made automatically when the adapter is mounted. The mirrorless design allows for adequate space to accomplish this while electronic masking ensures accuracy while still keeping the unit size very compact.

The keywords here are:
  • automatic repositioning of the focal plane of the sensor unit when the adapter is mounted
  • mirrorless design
This is getting more interesting by the day. I am expecting more info next week.

Posted in Other Nikon stuff| Tagged , | 20 Comments